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2011 Honda Element EX, an Autoweek Drivers Log Car Review

September 21, 2011

DIGITAL EDITOR ANDREW STOY: One night behind the wheel of our brave little toaster was enough to convince me that the 2011 Honda Element EX remains a great concept desperately seeking a modern platform.

Take, for example, the interior. If you're going to build a boxy multipurpose vehicle, this is basically how it should be done: Quality plastics and textured rubber abound, and the execution doesn't feel cheap. It feels utilitarian, which is different and perfectly acceptable here.

The Element is also much larger inside than one might suspect. It's like one of those movie ghost houses with impossibly huge rooms despite a compact façade. The rear-hinged suicide doors provide lots of access, while stadium rear seats help keep claustrophobia at bay. Perhaps more telling, both my kids remarked (with some irritation) that they were unable to reach the seatback in front of them for a well-placed kick. I can personally attest that neither the Jeep Grand Cherokee nor Honda's own Odyssey have been able to achieve this seemingly simple feat.

Outward visibility, on the other hand, is compromised. The windshield is huge, but the driver sits back far enough that the pseudo-B-pillar splitting the suicide doors is right in the driver's peripheral vision. Similarly, the kids were chagrined that they sat right at the C-pillar point with no way to open the fixed-glass windows.

Where the Element really falls short is the driving experience. The powertrain feels old and not really up to the task of hauling nearly two tons of bread van down the highway. The slightest throttle input provokes a downshift, which is good for responsiveness but also partly responsible for the Element's pathetic fuel economy. Coupled with the buzzy drone of the engine (thanks to nonexistent firewall sound deadening), the powertrain gives the impression of being 10 years older than the still-fresh (to these eyes) styling. It's '80s Japanese econobox at its worst.

The brakes have excellent pedal feel--Honda has obviously been doing its engineering homework here, since every one of the Honda/Acura vehicles I've driven recently has had exceptional brake feel--but the steering is vague, and any form of raucous cornering provokes shrieks from the stock tires. If they helped offer a quiet freeway ride, I could perhaps forgive their meager grip, but the tires added plenty of rumble to what was an already noisy cabin.

In the end, the Honda Element is the victim of two deadly sins: An obnoxious $25,000 sticker price and 19 mpg city/24 mpg highway fuel economy. Both are unforgivable in a vehicle offering such little driving pleasure. That's a shame, as the Element is an otherwise compelling package, even this late in its lifecycle.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR BOB GRITZINGER: This is the Element's last model year, and to that I say that's too bad. The Element is the embodiment of basic, practical transportation: easy-clean surfaces, easy-open cargo and passenger portals, a simple and reliable drivetrain and highly functional interior space and configurations.

Sadly, aside from some minor improvements over time, Honda hasn't really kept the Element up to speed with advancements over its lifecycle. The powertrain remains the same, as does the vehicle's structure and suspension. So while other vehicles in this competitive set have improved, the Element is the same noisy, buzzy box it was when it first arrived on the market. Back then, it was a cheap, noisy, buzzy box that offered something different; today those traits merely point out the lack of highway-speed power, the road and wind noise permeating the cabin and the need for at least one more gear in that transmission. The vehicle also has always needed a fifth-seat option (center seat in the second row).

To me, Honda's greatest shortfall was failing to give the Element a hybrid powertrain. If any vehicle in the Japanese automaker's lineup seemed perfect for hybridization, in terms of packaging and intended market, the Element was it.

ROAD TEST EDITOR JONATHAN WONG: A nine-year run certainly isn't something to be ashamed about, especially for a quirky thing like the Element. Honda says that it has sold more than 325,000 of these boxy things, which isn't a whole lot but respectable, I suppose. To me, the Element is a product that showed that there were at least some imaginative people left within the walls of Honda when it comes to design.

As Bob mentions, Honda didn't do all that much to keep the Element up to date during its lifetime besides a minor freshening in 2007, which saw the 2.4-liter four-cylinder gain an extra 10 hp for a total output of 166 hp and an additional 1 lb-ft of torque to 161 lb-ft. Besides that, the Element has more or less remained as is from the day it went on sale.

Sure, there were some new trims and option packages such as the SC model, which targeted the tuner crowd with slick wheels and exclusive interior touches. My favorite had to be the Dog-Friendly Element, which was a package directly from Honda that added a ramp in the back for dogs to get in and out of the car easily, a dog bed, fan, water bowl, floor mats with a dog-bone pattern and exterior badges.

While this 2.4-liter four-cylinder is smooth when mated to the five-speed automatic, it does feel a little overburdened while moving this all-wheel-drive Element model around. I'm not saying that it can't get out of its own way, but expressway merging does take a floored throttle pedal. The ride is a bit choppy over big bumps, and there is some play in the steering on center, but it handles on par with other small SUVs on the market. Brakes are strong and responsive, which is typical of a Honda. Wind noise is higher because, well, the Element has the aerodynamics of a box.

The truth is that I'll miss the Element. The suicide doors, the interior with rubber floors for easy cleanup and its funky looks, which Honda originally targeted toward young consumers and labeled it as a dorm room on wheels. That didn't quite work; it actually ended up appealing to an older demographic. Hey, at least somebody embraced it, right?

I believe if Honda did take a stab at doing a second generation by massaging the looks, updating the interior and slotting in a more powerful powertrain with improved fuel economy, I think people would again take notice of it. But for now, so long, Element.

2011 Honda Element EX

Base Price: $24,995

As-Tested Price: $24,995

Drivetrain: 2.4-liter I4; AWD, five-speed automatic

Output: 166 hp @ 5,800 rpm, 161 lb-ft @ 4,000 rpm

Curb Weight: 3,641 lb

Fuel Economy (EPA/AW): 21/22.5 mpg

Options: None

Andrew Stoy
- Digital editor Andrew Stoy is an avid enthusiast of all cars who has spent the past 15 years writing about the automobile in print, online and for advertising and PR firms.
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